Wilstein nominated for Hall

Steve Wilstein, the reporter who broke the story of Mark McGwire’s drug use, might be in the Baseball Hall of Fame before the 12-time All-Star.

The retired sportswriter was among those nominated for the Hall of Fame’s J.G. Taylor Spink Award, 11 years after noticing the supplement androstenedione in McGwire’s locker and getting him to acknowledge his use of the product, which already had been banned in Olympic sports.

Wilstein confirmed yesterday he was nominated by the Seattle chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and will be up for consideration for the award that recognizes “meritorious contributions to baseball writing.”

Wilstein, you may recall, was roundly criticized for what many people felt was his raining on the dinger parade when he broke the andro story back in 1998. As Mike Bianchi recounted in his notable 2004 column about Wilstein, “Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa tried to get Wilstein banned from the locker room. McGwire accused Wilstein of ‘snooping’ around his locker. One lapdog baseball writer accused Wilstein of ‘inventing a scandal.’ Another tried to denigrate Wilstein’s story by calling it a ‘tabloid-driven controversy.’ Many others called him ‘unprofessional.'”

It’s hard being the first to do anything, but it’s good to see that the writers are doing what they can, however belatedly, to recognize Wilstein’s contributions to what everyone will agree has been baseball’s biggest story in the past decade.

In loosely related news, the 2003 “anonymous” PED tests have claimed another victim, according to the New York Times. One Sammy Sosa is said to have been among the more than 100 players with a positive test for PED’s. More to follow from CC, I’m sure…….